How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

It’s summertime, and that can only mean one thing for coffee lovers: cold brew. While cold brew coffee is all the rage at cafes lately, it’s surprisingly easy to make yourself at home. No barista required.

No Toddy? No problem. You can make cold brew coffee with just a few simple household items. Here are two ways you can do it.

To start:
· There is no “wrong” way to do this, as coffee generally comes down to your personal preferences.
· There is a “best” way to make cold brew coffee that highlights the flavor notes and most delicious characteristics of the coffee
· There is such a thing as “bad water,” so make sure you are using water that tastes good and is free of odors. It will affect the flavor of the cold brew more than if it were brewed hot. We suggest using filtered tap or bottled water.
· We will be using a 1:4 coffee to water ratio. This will produce a concentrate that you can dilute as desired according to how strong you like it.

The process:
1. Measure out your water into a clean container.
2. Measure out and then finely grind your coffee into a separate clean container.
3. Put your ground coffee onto the cheese cloth, fold up the edges and tie off the end. Or, put your ground coffee directly into the mason jar.

Method #1:
4. Slowly pour your water into the mason jar.
5. Let the coffee steep for 12 hours.
6. Remove the cheesecloth bundle from the concentrate, letting the coffee drain completely into the mason jar before discarding.

Method #2:
4. Slowly pour your water into the mason jar in a steady circular motion.
5. Gently submerge all of the coffee grounds with a butter knife.
6. Let the coffee steep for 12 hours.
7. Remove the center lid piece from the mason jar and use the outer ring to secure the coffee filter or cheesecloth to the top of the mason jar mouth.
8. Gently invert the mason jar over a clean glass container that will hold your concentrate.
9. Be patient, this may take a few minutes – let drain completely.

You’re almost there! Your finished coffee concentrate can now be diluted with water at a 1:1 ratio. More or less water can be used to achieve the desired taste. Store your cold brew coffee concentrate in a glass container and keep refrigerated. The concentrate will keep for a week (but if you’re anything like us, it’ll be gone much faster than that!).